Sunday, February 26, 2012

F26. Occupying the Shadow Issues.

To quote OLA member Deirdre:

"The Safer Cities Initiative is being used to criminalize the homeless in
an effort to move them out and gentrify the downtown area. We believe
that every person in Los Angeles, particularly the disenfranchised, has
a right to shape and design our city's future. At a cost of $6 million
dollars a year, the Safer Cities Initiative was implemented in 2006 by
the LA City Council and LAPD, allowing physical attacks by the police on
people who refuse to move, seizures of the property of the homeless,
and giving police the ability to make arrests for such 'crimes' as
sitting on the sidewalk or tying your shoelaces. SCI has taken the
prejudice against, and harassment of, Skid Row residents to an
unprecedented level."

Was with fellow Occupier Ron at a teach-in downtown (oddly enough, about protester's legal rights) and decided to walk a few blocks to the Occupy Skid Row encampment. Turns out we were right in time, as a police Captain in an unmarked car crept up to order the last tent standing be taken down per the "Safer City Initiative". I know that =I= feel safer, now that he's collapsed it. Yesh.

TC told us that police had been by earlier and told him that he's going to jail. Nothing specific, just threats. They'll find a reason. And it's a shame. I've met some decent police who would hopefully not go along with these destructive sorts of orders and behaviours.

See also the Occupyshadowmediala and official OLA youtube channels for reports: